]]>In 2007, I attended a multi-day conference on leadership. One of the plenary sessions focused on Generative Leadership, which was being pitched as new, different, better, and the way of the future.

The approach, attributes and actions associated with generative leadership are stereotypically female. The very definition references something only women can do

“the ability to give birth, to bring into being, or to evoke… synonymous with creativity.”

The universe must have played a role in seating me at a table of all women, none of whom I knew. As the male panelists and presenters talked about, but didn’t name the feminine qualities of generative leadership, I noted my table mates’ eye rolls.

As the presenters continued, we exchanged comments about the female overtones, undertones and middle tones of this presentation that failed to mention any association to the feminine.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

I’m convinced that a decade of more women in leadership roles, helped to plant the seeds of discovery for which these men were taking credit. Women are redefining leadership. We should be identified and valued for our contributions.

Let’s Give Credit for How Women Redefine Leadership

The lack of recognition made me angry. Anger provides energy for and inspires action. I was inspired to identify and credit women for helping to renew and improve our understanding of what effective leaders do. Thus began a two year research project.

Hypothesis: The increased number of women in leadership roles has resulted in greater emphasis on stereotypically feminine attributes associated with effective leadership.

Phase 1 – Identify traits associated with gender stereotypes

Step 1:

Review the research on stereotypically feminine and stereotypically masculine traits.

Results:

According to social science, stereotypically feminine includes:

Emotional attunement

Empathic

Building bonds

Community orientation

Making connections

Masculine traits include:

Assertion

Control

Commanding

Ambitious

Dominant

Self-confident

Individualistic

Step 2:

Conduct a literature search (yes, in the library, not on Google) for terms that include various forms and combinations of: empathy, emotion(s), emotional, leader, leadership, etc., in two time frames.

Prior to the mid-1990s, when there were far fewer women in management and leadership roles

1995 and beyond, when the number of women in these roles began to increase

I contend that the increased interest and focus on the emotional aspects of leadership is related to women having demonstrated the effectiveness of being an emotional savvy leader.

Phase 2 – Interview the Leaders

Step 1:

Conduct focus groups to determine interview questions.

Step 2:

Interview 50 leaders, 25 women and 25 men, regarding whether and how women redefine leadership. Explore what men are learning from women leaders. Find out whether and how they’ve changed their leadership actions as a result.

I interviewed only people who had held leadership roles since the 1980s to ensure they experienced the before and after of more women in management or leadership roles.

Findings:

Unanimous agreement that men lead differently based on how women redefine leadership attributes and the results they achieve.

Almost unanimous agreement that women lead differently from men in the following ways, and that men are adapting their leadership accordingly:

Using a more collaborative approach

Being inclusive, seeking a variety of opinions, building consensus

Demonstrating support for others

Applying intuitive thinking

Showing empathy

Picture me smiling at one of my favorite interview quotes:

The women came in and civilized us. As a result, I don’t throw my shoes across the conference room anymore.

Let’s give credit where credit is due – to the women – as Leadership scholar James MacGregor Burns’ 1970 prediction comes true.

“As leadership comes properly to be seen as a process of leaders engaging and mobilizing the human needs and aspirations of followers, women will be more readily recognized as leaders and men will change their own leadership styles.” (Leadership, p. 50)

To receive your copy of the research report, sign up for Germane Insights blog posts by May 1, 2015.

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/women-redefine-leadership/feed/07 Tips for How to Get Honest Feedbackhttp://germaneconsulting.com/7-tips-to-get-honest-feedback/
http://germaneconsulting.com/7-tips-to-get-honest-feedback/#commentsFri, 27 Feb 2015 11:44:30 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=7092The tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes reflects a well-know truth about leadership. The higher up you go, the less likely you are to get useful honest feedback. Why? The level at which you lead is correlated with the power you’re perceived to have. People often fear power in the hands of those who control […]

]]>The tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes reflects a well-know truth about leadership. The higher up you go, the less likely you are to get useful honest feedback.

Honest feedback needed

Why?

The level at which you lead is correlated with the power you’re perceived to have. People often fear power in the hands of those who control their livelihoods. It’s not you (I hope) but the power you wield, or at least the power others perceive you to wield. So they’re afraid to tell you the honest truth about your leadership. Without the honest truth, self-awareness, a critical step in the learning process, suffers. It’s up to you to create an environment and develop relationships that allow you to get honest feedback.

The benefits go well beyond the feedback itself.

How?

Relationships are the tools for getting things done and the higher up you go, the more true this is. Asking for and graciously receiving feedback is one of the best ways to strengthen relationships at work. These seven tips will help you get honest feedback is a way that builds trusted relationships.

1. HOW TO ASK for and GET HONEST FEEDBACK

Emphasize that you want people to be honest, otherwise they’re likely to remain on the surface, when a deep dive would be more helpful.

Ask people to:

Be honest

Stretch beyond the established honesty zone of your relationship

Not hold back

Talk about what you do and don’t do well

Provide examples of what you do and the affect it has on them and others.

Talk about what you can do differently in the future

2. ADOPT A JOURNALIST MINDSET

Imagine that you’re conducting an interview about a 3rd person. You’re after information that will enrich your story about him or her. It’s not your place to share your own point of view or to sway the interviewee.

3. HOW TO RESPOND

Ask open-ended probing questions to further explore the feedback being offered. Avoid questions that require a yes or no response, because that’s exactly, and only, what you’ll get.

If you get defensive, justify your actions or critique the feedback, people will shut down, as well they should. THEY are giving YOU a gift and taking a risk in doing so.

It’s natural to feel defensive, justify your actions, evaluate the feedback and the feed-backer. But you don’t have to act on those thoughts and feelings. It’s best not to. Notice when they come up and watch as they float downstream, out of sight and out of mind. Rinse and repeat when the defensive thoughts and feelings return.

5. TAKE NOTES

Taking notes demonstrates that you value what’s being said.

Pausing to write can prevent you from being defensive, justifying, evaluating or responding in some other way that shuts down honest and helpful feedback. It also provides space, by way of silence, for your feed-backer to offer even deeper and more honest feedback

6. SHOW APPRECIATION

Remember how powerful you’re perceived to be. People are taking a risk as they offer open and honest feedback. Thank them.

7. FOLLOW UP

Send a note outlining what you learned, what you intend to do, and ask for any help you might need. At the very least, ask your feed-backers to be spotters who let you know when you’re improving, or falling back on old habits.

People who check back in with their feed-backers over time, versus those who don’t, are rated as achieving greater gains in the areas identified for growth.

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/7-tips-to-get-honest-feedback/feed/0Four Rules for Leading in a Crisishttp://germaneconsulting.com/rules_for_leading-in-a-crisis/
http://germaneconsulting.com/rules_for_leading-in-a-crisis/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2015 12:47:40 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=7089Charlie Baker is the anti role model for leading in a crisis and possibly in non-crises as well. Former Governor Mike Dukakis set four rules for crisis leadership during the Blizzard of ’78. Baker broke them all in 2015 during Boston’s Winter from Hell and the public transportation crisis.

]]>This is part two of a series on what to do and what not to do when leading in a crisis. Part 1 – How to Commit Leadership Suicide appears here.

Leading in a Crisis – The Wrong Way

Charlie Baker is the anti role model for leading in a crisis, possibly non-crises as well. Baker is pictured below, day two in office, feet perched on his chief of staff’s desk, in a style that communicates “I own this space”. Good leaders create shared space in which collective intelligence thrives and produces better solutions. These leaders and are more likely to lean in and listen.

Governor Charlie Baker, the anti role model for leading in a crisis. Image by Pat Greenhouse, Globe Staff

The Crisis

In February 2015, winter storms left Boston under 8 feet of snow. The city’s aged public transportation system was debilitated. Riders stood in the cold for hours, awaiting buses and trains. Stalled trains and uncleared tracks left some riders with no choice but to march the distance on foot, in the cold. On several occasions the system was completely shut down for one or more days.The People were angry and frustrated.

How Charlie Baker Responded

Charlie Baker’s actions and in-actions during this time provide good lessons on what not to do when leading in a crisis.

Baker waited 3 long weeks before communicating with Bev Scott, head of Boston’s public transportation system (MBTA)

During this same time period Baker wasn’t visible, or audible, to the public

When Baker did raise his voice, he used it to blame Bev Scott and MBTA employees, not to pitch in and help.

“It’s pretty clear that they need a new operating plan,” Baker said (to the press).

A few days later

“Next week…the thing better be working. People plan their daily lives, their work schedules, around this. And whatever the schedule it is you run on, you better run on it accurately.”

Baker Should Have Followed the 4 Rules for Leading in a Crisis

Baker could have, but didn’t, consult with former Governor Michael Dukakis who proved his ability to lead in a similar crisis during the Blizzard of ’78. Dukakis’ leadership was so effective and impressive that members of the press, elected officials and people around the country began to speak of him as a presidential.

Dukakis Playbook for Leading in a Crisis begins with 4 rules.

Get out there and communicate with the public immediately.

Take responsibility. Roll up your sleeves.

Be among the people as you lead them.

Symbols make a difference. Use them.

Dukakis appeared on television, wearing a cardigan, to address the people of Massachusetts. The cardigan became a symbol of his leadership during the crisis. It demonstrated rule number 3 – be among the people as you lead them. Regarding rules 1 and 2, in Dukakis’ own words, during a recent interview “When the snow started falling we went into action.”

Where Dukakis said and acted “we”, Baker pointed and said “they”. Dukakis rolled up his sleeves. Baker kept his sleeves rolled down, pressed and cuffed.

I remember the Blizzard of ’78. We, The People, became a community. We helped each other. We thanked the bus drivers, who provided our only means of transportation.Maybe it was just a different time, but I choose to believe it had something, perhaps a great deal, to do with how Dukakis was leading in a crisis.

It’s worth mentioning that when he was interviewed about Boston’s current MBTA crisis, Dukakis, who is teaching at UCLA for the semester, began with an apology to The People for not being here now.

Note the differences between Governor Baker, pictured above, and Mike Dukakis, pictured below, working and breaking bread with his staff, during the Blizzard of 78.

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/rules_for_leading-in-a-crisis/feed/0How to Commit Leadership Suicidehttp://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-commit-leadership-suicide/
http://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-commit-leadership-suicide/#commentsTue, 17 Feb 2015 11:37:01 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=7049To avoid committing leadership suicide, know the rules of play, especially when leading in a crisis. Bev Scott, who just resigned as head of Boston’s public transportation system, the cranky and beloved MBTA, didn’t play by the rules. Learn from her mistakes.

]]>Welcome to part one of a two part series on BIG leadership mistakes. It features Dr. Bev Scott, head of Boston’s public transportation system (MBTA), and Governor Charlie Baker. One of them just resigned.

We begin with events surrounding Dr. Scott’s leadership suicide.

Introducing Bev Scott

I’ve met Bev Scott and she impressed me as a leader with an inspirational mission. Transportation is the THE HOW. Her mission, THE WHAT, is to improve people’s lives by providing access to employment, health care, education, culture and recreation.

Dr. Scott has a PhD in Political Science and a number of awards for her accomplishments as a senior leader of public transportation systems in four major cities.

Leadership Suicide – The Situation

In early February 2105, winter storms left Boston under six feet of snow. The city’s aged public transportation system, already in dire need of repairs and upgrades, was debilitated. Riders were stranded in the cold for hours – waiting, pushing and shoving their way onto trains and buses – struggling to get to and from work. Some got stuck on stalled trains and had to march the distance on foot, in the cold. The People were angry. At several points Scott declared total service shut downs due to safety concerns.

She was blamed and ultimately thrown under the bus by a number of public officials, members of the public, the press; and Governor Charlie Baker. Her staff, however, gave her an official vote of confidence. Scott’s earlier work on management style, with a leadership psychologist, seems to have paid off. (Note to self: Leadership psychologist was paid $144,000. Raise fees.)

Leaders, however, also need to manage up and out.

When things don’t work as they’re supposed do, The People get angry. Leaders, especially political leaders, usually find someone to blame. That someone gets fired or is asked to step down. The People feel better, temporarily, although the real problem, typically a systems issue, hasn’t been addressed.

As a leader in the public or private sector, knowing the rules of play for this chapter will help you avoid leadership suicide. Even if you get the boot, playing by the rules will ensure you recover from the fall.

Rules of the Game

I can’t speak to Bev Scott’s operational management skills and whether she made good decisions during the snow induced crisis. But I will comment on how she mismanaged communications while speaking up from under-the-bus.

Basic Rules for Leading During a Crisis

When customers are upset and angry:

Empathize

Tell them what you’re doing to fix the problem and what they can expect, when

Don’t defend yourself or your team…yet

When communicating publicly:

Maintain your calm

Don’t blame or criticize others (You can do that privately)

Prepare. Predict. Rehearse.

Identify your main points, in advance, and stick to them. Use your team, coach, PR and communications experts. Know what the press is likely to ask, and yes, they will ask if you’re going to resign.

Bev Scott committed leadership suicide by breaking these rules during a press conference that she called. You can watch it here.

1. Dr. Scott doesn’t maintain her calm and isn’t on point. After four minutes her anger takes over. Scott should get her anger under control before meeting the press. Anger can be used strategically and intentionally but YOU should use IT, not vice versa. Let’s also be mindful that women are judged more harshly for losing emotional control and black women even more so. Unfair, yes, but that’s the way it is.

2. Dr. Scott doesn’t begin by building an empathic bridge with MBTA riders. She could have done this -> “I understand how frustrated and angry you are. You need and deserve a reliable public transportation system that gets you where you need to go. That’s what we want you to have, and it clearly isn’t happening now.” Then, and only then, could Scott talk about a 100 year old system that couldn’t function in the epic conditions at play. She could have set the stage to win people over for a future fight to oppose Governor Baker’s proposed MBTA budget cuts. But first, she has to empathize.

3. Bev Scott pulls the covers off Governor Baker, which amounts to criticizing the boss. When asked if she was angered by his comments about MBTA operations, she replies,

“I have had no conversation with the governor throughout the 3 weeks of what has been going on.”

With this statement, and the anger Dr. Scott expresses over Baker’s budget cuts, it’s inevitable that she will either step down or be fired. Scott is right about the problems, but oddly, being right isn’t part of the rulebook. Regardless of what Baker did or didn’t do, Scott’s moves go down as “Not a team player.” Fair or unfair, this is a particularly bad designation for a woman to hold.

Gender, Race, and the Rules of Play

Bev Scott is a strong, outspoken African American woman. No doubt, this played a role in how people viewed and responded to her leadership during the crisis. Former Mayor Patrick Duval, an African American man, democrat and Obama supporter, hired Bev Scott as G.M. of the MBTA. Charlie Baker is a white republican. Coincidentally, he lives in Swampscott, Massachusetts, where I grew up. At that time, it was an all-white suburb. There were no blacks, and Jews weren’t allowed to buy homes in certain neighborhoods. It’s changed since then, but is still a predominantly white upper middle class community. All of this made a difference in how Bev Scott was viewed, but none of it gives her permission to ignore the rule book.

Those of us who are not part of the in-power group, have to play by the prevailing rules established long ago by the ancestors of the in-power group, until…

We have the power to change the rules. It’s happening, however slowly, but we’re not there yet. Like it or not, we won’t get there by breaking the rules.

Stay tuned for Charlie Baker’s role and the BIG mistakes he made during the crisis that led to Bev Scott’s leadership suicide.

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-commit-leadership-suicide/feed/06 Steps to Creating a Visionhttp://germaneconsulting.com/6-steps-creating-a-vision/
http://germaneconsulting.com/6-steps-creating-a-vision/#commentsWed, 04 Feb 2015 11:11:34 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=6958A vision describes what people in the organization collectively aspire to create and deliver to the outside world. Here’s a basic recipe for creating a vision that people commit to achieving. It works best if you adjust and flavor, as needed, for your organization.

A vision describes WHAT people in the organization collectively aspire to create and deliver to the world. Vision inspires people to achieve something that matters, to reach beyond their grasp. On a more practical level it helps determine what people focus on and what they don’t. Vision sets the foundation for goals, strategies and actions.

To assure commitment and accountability, involve the right people in molding the vision. Here’s a basic recipe. It works best if you adjust and flavor, as needed, for your organization.

Steer clear of your usual meeting rooms and create a more playful space where people can move around. Visioning is a creative process and an aspirational mindset. Moving while thinking helps us think better, especially when creativity is called for. (Give Your Ideas Some Legs). Access to the outdoors is ideal, but an indoor space in which people can walk around, will do. Toys and colors help. Consider peppering the room with clay, colored pencils and markers, Legos. Cover tables and walls with paper. Encourage people to doodle and draw visual images of what’s in their minds. You’ve heard the stories of great business ideas that were drawn on napkins. Bring napkins.

3. Identify the ground-rules and desired outcomes

Here are a few for your consideration:

We are here to create our future by answering the questions “Who will we be as an organization and what will we create together?”

This is a time to ask what, not how. We will ask how later.

We will talk about our greatest aspirations, not our limits.

We will listen to each other without judgment.

We will listen at a deeper level. We seek first to understand before expressing our responses or point of view.

We build on each others’ ideas, the way members of a jazz band listen to the spontaneous play of each others’ music and build upon it. Listen well.

4. Each person talks about their purpose, their why, what they care about most.

Pose questions, such as:

Why did you choose this profession and industry?

What do you aspire to create or achieve?

When you look back on your career, what achievements do you want to see? What’s the legacy you hope to leave?

As people speak, themes emerge. These themes become the group’s collective purpose and lead to a vision.

5. Paint the future.

People typically work in smaller groups (of up to 5), to grow the collective purpose into a picture of the future they seek to create. Encourage people to paint with words and images so others can “see” the picture. Each group presents their vision to the larger group. Common themes emerge.

6. Review.

A special team takes themes from the day and draws a picture of the future for review by the larger team.

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/6-steps-creating-a-vision/feed/0How to Define Your Company Purposehttp://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-define-company_purpose/
http://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-define-company_purpose/#commentsTue, 27 Jan 2015 13:57:27 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=6991This is the first of a two part series on Defining the Company Purpose and Vision. Purpose is the springboard for an aspirational vision that galvanizes people. But company purpose receives scant attention in leadership and organizational literature. Here’s a quick primer to help you define your company’s purpose.

]]>This is the first of a two part series for leaders on defining your organization’s purpose and vision.

Why Defining Your Company Purpose Matters

Purpose is the springboard for your company’s aspirational vision. Vision galvanizes people and inspires them to strive for achievements that seem beyond what’s possible. As a leader how do you uncover and articulate the company purpose? Here’s a quick primer to help you.

What’s Your Personal and Company Purpose?

What is Purpose?

Purpose speaks to what you, as the leader and/or founder, aspire to contribute and how you want to affect the world around you. It’s something about which you care deeply. (See Ken Blanchard and Jesse Lyn Stoner.) Your purpose infuses the company purpose. Purpose tells people why they’re doing what they do.

Uncovering Your Purpose

If you’re not clear about your purpose, or haven’t quite figured out how to articulate it in a way that sticks, use the methods described below. Each is followed by an example of the leader’s purpose and how it informs the company purpose.

Method 1:

Picture your last day of work. Imagine you’re looking back on achievements that will outlast you. You’re feeling really good about what you see and you know others will continue to move it forward. Describe what you see and the purpose it serves.

Tesla’s Purpose

Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk, wants to “affect the future in a positive way”. (His” Why”) Musk doesn’t have to work for the $$$$$$$, having received $165 million when PayPal, his former company, was sold to e-bay.

At Tesla, Musk is focused on developing automobile engines that run on clean fuel and making the cars affordable. (How he’ll achieve his purpose. What he’ll contribute.)

Musk, Tesla investors and employees intend to play a role in addressing climate change. (A more focused version of his own and the company’s “Why”)

Sometimes purpose shows up in critical life experiences that help form your identity and what you care about. What are your formative experiences? Who and what influenced you? How do these circumstances shape and define your purpose?

Chuck Schwab’s Critical Identity Story

Chuck, founder and CEO of Charles Schwab, grew up in the post-depression era. His parents had to use government food rations to barter for goods and services they couldn’t afford. But they valued and strove for financial independence, not wealth, independence. Chuck contributed by becoming one of the first Avon delivery kids. Later he founded his first entrepreneurial venture, recruiting several friends to collect returnable bottles left behind at sporting events. These values and early life lessons helped to define Chuck’s purpose.

After college, in the era prior to deregulation, Chuck began studying the financial markets. He concluded that high brokers’ fees prevented average Americans from investing in the stock market. This, in turn, limited their options for achieving financial independence. Schwab wanted to change that by

DEMOCRATIZING WALL STREET

Chuck founded a company to achieve this purpose. The company’s vision, goals and strategies were aligned and set the guidelines for what employees would do, and not do, to democratize Wall Street.

Purpose > Vision > Goals > Strategy > Actions

What’s Your Purpose?

Uncovering purpose isn’t as easy as it sounds. It helps to work with someone who:

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/how-to-define-company_purpose/feed/1360 Leadership Assessments: What They Really Tell Ushttp://germaneconsulting.com/360-leadership-assessments/
http://germaneconsulting.com/360-leadership-assessments/#commentsTue, 30 Dec 2014 15:18:39 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=6875Over the past decade 360 leadership assessments have gained popularity as a way to evaluate the leader’s competence and chart his/her development. But what do 360 leadership assessments really tell us about the leaders potential? For that we compare the leader’s….

]]>Over the past decade 360 leadership assessments have gained popularity as a way to evaluate the leader’s competence and potential, and to chart a course for his/her development. But what do these assessments really tell us?

To find out, let’s consider the research.

360 Leadership Assessments – What Self Ratings Tell Us

Self ratings correlate exactly 0.0 with actual performance (Lombardo and Eichenger 2003). It seems the leader, like the emperor, doesn’t see his new clothes as others do.

What we know about 360 leadership assessments

Self-ratings, however, are far from meaningless. They actually predict the likelihood of promotion, stagnation, and termination.

Lombardo and Eichenger tracked a group of leaders for two years after completion of their 360 leadership assessments. Three clear paths emerged when leaders’ self-ratings were compared to others’ ratings:

Under-raters were most likely to be promoted

Similar-raters were most likely to stay where they were

Over-raters were most likely to be terminated

The reasons seem like not-rocket-science, but then again, I’m a leadership psychologist, not a rocket scientist.

Successful leaders are continuous learners. They know they need to learn and change as they move up. (For a thoughtful guide to what needs to change at each level, see The Leadership Pipeline, at the bottom of this post). Why do these star performers tend to under-rate themselves? They set higher standards for their own performance, seek more feedback, and rarely see themselves as measuring up. If and when they do, they raise the bar.

By contrast, higher self-raters have glaring blind spots, especially regarding their people skills. People skills is where the trouble begins and where it also ends the over-raters tenure in his/her current leadership role.

Lower level supervisors need to be skilled at managing projects, work and tasks – operational issues. But people skills become increasingly important as leaders move up. At higher levels the leader is creating an environment for others to perform well. Senior leaders also deal with more breadth and complexity. To do so effectively, they need input from multiple perspectives and buy in from a broad audience. This too, calls for people skills. Leaders who over-rate their people skills don’t see the need to learn more in this arena, don’t engage in learning, don’t learn, and don’t succeed.

Managers who overestimate their competence, also tend not to learn from mistakes, because they don’t see them as readily or they assign responsibility elsewhere. As expected, they also have difficulty recovering when they fall from self-perceived good performance. (Shipper and Dillard, 2000).

The Boss’s Ratings

It’s no surprise that the boss’s ratings are most predictive of promotion, or lack thereof. After all, the boss determines who moves up, who stays where they are, and who leaves.

What group typically assigns the lowest ratings? This varies depending on the instrument. I often use the Emotional Competence Inventory and Leadership Versatility Index. On the former peers offer the lowest ratings, so much so that the instruments makes a statistical adjustment in peer ratings. Direct reports provide the highest ratings of the Leadership Versatility Index. The boss, customers and others rarely offer the lowest ratings.

Why?

Boss – Successful impression management aka “Managing up”; and if the boss hired you, he has a vested interest in your success, which may influence his perceptions and ratings

]]>Bold Confidence is the 5th of five inspirational leadership attributes.

Inspirational Leadership Attributes – Number 5

Inspirational leaders have a compelling purpose, a “why” on behalf of which they lead (the first attribute in this series). It informs the leader’s mission and vision. Inspirational leaders demonstrate a bold confidence in doing what’s needed to achieve that vision. Consider Moses telling Pharaoh “Let my people go.”

Inspirational leaders take risks, and some, like Elon Musk, do so with a flare for taking on an impossible mission. Musk is literally aiming for Mars.

Inspirational Leadership – Bold Confidence

Elon Musk boldly declares that Tesla, an electric car company, possibly THE electric car company, will vanquish the internal combustion engine someday. His other company, SolarCity, will help mitigate climate change. His other company, SpaceX, aspires to bring travelers to Mars.

Not bold enough for you yet? Try this.

Musk’s game plan for Tesla seems like a Robin Hood story. Tesla entered the market by selling high priced cars to the very-rich. These early revenues will partially fund the infrastructure needed to build lower priced models that will sell to the less-rich. Musk plans to drive Tesla prices down as quickly as possible, lowering the price of each successive model. This is not, however, a low price strategy for winning in a competitive market. Musk intends to increase sales volumes by make owning a Tesla more feasible for more buyers. Oh, and did I mention, you can shop for your Tesla at high priced retail malls?

“Do the impossible” is one of Tesla’s slogans, and it appears Musk is attempting to do just that. To make future models more affordable, Tesla will build a plant capable of producing 500,000 lithium-ion battery packs annually. That’s what the entire world currently produces. The plant will cost an estimated $5 billion dollars to build and will be about the size of the Pentagon.

Musk thinks Bold, Big and Confident. More importantly he acts on his ideas and he gets people, and institutions, to do likewise. As Musk shopped for a place to build this mammoth plant, Nevada responded with $1.4 billion in tax breaks and free land. According to Fortune magazine,

Is this personality factor one of the key inspirational leadership attributes?

No.

Consider Charles Schwab. His personal style is more conservative than Musk’s, but his initial mission was, in it’s day, just as bold. In a time when only the wealthy and institutions owned stocks, Schwab set out to democratize Wall Street. He made it possible for the average citizen to grow his/her wealth by investing in the stock market.

Inspirational leaders set out a bold mission, and they move with a bold confidence to make it a reality. You might even say they’re audacious. I would.

What’s your BIG BOLD mission?

The first four posts on inspirational leadership attributes, can be accessed by clicking the links below.

]]>Focus is number 4 in the series, 5 Attributes of Inspirational Leaders.

Inspirational leaders are focused

Inspirational Leaders Stay Focused

Inspirational leaders are focused on achieving a vision. They articulate it in different ways to different constituents, but the core message remains the same. They identify the small number of major initiatives or changes that must occur to transform the vision into reality. Finally, they ensure the work at all levels of the company, and in all functions, is aligned to the vision. Some spend up to 40% of their time articulating, communicating, and ensuring alignment to the vision.

Tony Fadell -Relentlessly Focused

Tony Fadell, former Apple executive, known for his design work on the original iPod and iPhone, is relentlessly focused on creating sleek, aesthetically designed, high-tech products with simple to use interfaces. His attention is automatically drawn to ugly design problems at home, at work, and in life. An interviewer from Fast Company magazine, who visited Fadell at home, writes:

Fadell is still sniping at his home’s imperfections. ‘It’s absolutely, utterly hideous!’ Fadell growls, zeroing his attention on an ugly beige gadget glued to the outside wall that controls the pool’s temperature… ‘The stupid thing was there before we got here, and it doesn’t even try to blend in. It’s staring at me, and somehow, I’m going to fix it,’ Fadell says as he continues to grimace at the plastic rectangle. His eyes then dart to his next object of scorn. ‘And just look at those horrible [security] cameras up there!’

When Fadell left Apple to start Nest, 100 Apple employees followed him – a clear sign that Fadell is an inspirational leader.

His vision?

Create a single-platform, connected-home of the future, featuring all of the following:

Intelligent devices, such as thermostats that know when no one is home

Remote control via smart phones

Appliances and control devices designed to integrate with modern day home decor

Intuitive human interface

Nest employees began their quest to create an intelligent, well-designed, easy to use home thermostat, by studying thermostat interfaces from the 1950s forward. Relentless focus.

Fadell doesn’t reserve his relentless focus for himself. He shares it throughout the company. Fadell pushes employees hard. When he asks how the development of a new product is going, he won’t tolerate the answer “Everything’s going great,” because in his view, it can’t be so. Why? It isn’t perfect…yet.

How does Fadell’s intolerance for anything less than perfection synch with the genuine caring aspect of inspirational leaders? According to Apple employees who followed Fadell to Nest, it’s stressful to work for him, but he shows that he cares.

He rewards employees when deserved and his drive for unattainable perfection brings out the best in people…He is incredibly caring and passionate about [people’s] development. There have been moments that I’ve been beyond stressed, to the point of tears, and he’ll sit down and say, ‘Let’s talk through everything that’s going on.’ These are the rare moments of clarity with Tony that make all the hard times worth it. ~ Fast Company

]]>http://germaneconsulting.com/inspirational-leaders-are-focused/feed/05 Attributes of Inspirational Leaders #3http://germaneconsulting.com/5-attributes-of-inspirational-leaders-3/
http://germaneconsulting.com/5-attributes-of-inspirational-leaders-3/#commentsWed, 19 Nov 2014 11:24:42 +0000http://germaneconsulting.com/?p=6788Determination is the third of five attributes of Inspirational leaders. Their determination does not exist in a vacuum. It requires soil that is fertilized by a strong commitment to a compelling purpose.

Inspirational leaders are determined. They aren’t necessarily born or taught to be this way any more so than others. Their sense of determination grows in the soils of a compelling purpose.

Attributes of Inspirational Leaders – Determination

Inspirational leaders aren’t doing a job or fulfilling a role. They’re on a self-defined mission. In fact, Mayor Tom Menino and Dr. Jim O’Connell, whose stories appear below, never showed much determination, until each found his purpose.

Purpose Leads to Determination

Jim O’Connell moved aimlessly from job to job throughout his late 20s. Then one day O’Connell witnessed a gruesome motorcycle accident and comforted the injured driver until help arrived. O’Connell felt at ease in this role. “It made me really wish I could help fix his leg.”

That accident led O’Connell to medical school. Getting in wasn’t easy. A determined O’Connell chipped away at pre-med courses one by one. A number of medical schools discouraged him from applying, stating that he was too old to purse a career in medicine, but he stuck with it and was accepted to Harvard. Determination.

Many years and stories later, Dr. O’Connell has created a model for treating the homeless that has gained world wide attention. Boston Health Care for the Homeless is a network of clinics throughout the city and a 77,000-square-foot medical complex that includes a pharmacy, dental clinic, long-term care facility and end-of-life care. O’Connell’s determination, to provide the homeless with medical care, delivered compassionately and respectfully, grew from a compelling purpose that revealed itself over the course of many years.

Determined to Stand Up

Mayor Tom Menino was on a mission to unite the city’s diverse neighborhoods into “One Boston”. In the 1960s Louise Day Hicks inflamed racial tensions when she led a campaign in defiance of court ordered busing to integrate Boston public schools. Menino wanted to heal the wounds and divisions left behind. He acted in concert with this goal throughout his 20 year term, even after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Menino was determined that Boston would respond as a united city. He was determined that the people of Boston would stand together and neighbor would not turn against neighbor in an effort to find the terrorists, who were immigrants to this country.

Menino was two days post surgery that implanted a metal plate in his leg, when he received news of the bombings. The mayor had a history of blood clots and was instructed to keep his leg elevated, but he left the hospital immediately, in a wheel chair, with a catheter, and against doctors’ advice, to be with his people. Many acts of courage and sheer determination followed.

“At the interfaith service …a separate microphone, adjusted to the height of my wheelchair, was set up for me. When it was my turn to speak, my son whispered to me, ‘Dad , I’ll wheel you over to the microphone.’ Suddenly, I knew what to do. ‘Tommy,’ I said, ‘I’m the mayor. Wheel me to the pulpit. I’m going to stand up.’ If you watched the service, you saw the struggle I had doing it. I could feel the president and Mrs. Obama and the two thousand people in the cathedral rooting for me. With Tommy tipping the wheelchair forward, I put my hands on the arms and pushed. It was no good. I tucked my elbows further back and pushed harder. Biting my lower lip against the pain grabbing the lectern for balance, I stood up. The enclosed pulpit hid the line connecting my catheter to the bag on the wheelchair.

‘Good morning,’ I said, as the sun lit the stained-glass windows. ‘And it is a good morning because we are together. We are one Boston. No adversity, no challenge, nothing can tear down the resilience in the heart of this city and its people. . . . I have never loved it . . . more than I do today.’ I described the acts of caring that unfolded within seconds of the bombing. Boston’s worst moment, was the beginning of Boston’s finest hour: ‘Even with the smell of smoke in the air, and blood on the streets, and with tears in our eyes, we triumphed over that hateful act on Monday afternoon. . . . Because this is Boston, a city with courage, compassion, and strength that knows no bounds.’

Governor Patrick spoke next.

‘Mayor Menino started Monday morning frustrated he couldn’t be at the finish line this time as he always is. And then late that afternoon, checked himself out of the hospital to help this city, our city, face down this tragedy.’

His last line— ‘We will rise, and we will endure’— picked up on my gesture. Reporters are suckers for symbols. A Los Angeles Times headline was typical: ‘Mayor Menino: Symbol of a Resilient Boston.’ The story described the reaction to my speech—’He pulled himself from his wheelchair to the loudest applause of the day’— and noted that ‘in some ways, the mayor has become a potent symbol as a wounded Boston tries to heal.’

~From Mayor for a New America

Mayor Tom Menino, was determined to stand up to enduring pain and use himself as a symbol for what the city needed to do.